finn

I think this Bills team, with a better secondary and d-line and a settled identity on offense, can beat anyone. On the other hand, even with this new team, I can also see them losing to Chiefs, Ravens, and Bengals in the playoffs, with the advantage of having Allen once again neutralized by the disadvantage of having McDermott. My hope for the season rests on this: I think Allen is finally going to prevail over the ineptitude of his head coach. I don't think he can play much better than he has, but I sense he is finally fed up. This is a fully realized, enormously talented player at the absolute peak of his career who will not longer tolerate losing. McDermott will haplessly steer this team to second- or third-best every year if Allen lets him. But I don't think Allen will, not anymore.

To quote Ripley from the second Aliens movie, "Did the IQs just drop sharply while I was away?" I didn't say or suggest Beane should ignore the defense and prioritize the offense. Good lord. Re-read my posts. I'll wait. (I suggest looking up "Straw-man fallacy" while you're at it.)

Mischaracterizing your interlocutor's argument is a common but pretty transparent tactic in rhetoric, suggesting that you're not confident in the merits of your own position. Plus, it's such a waste of time. Do you want me to say, "I didn't say we were doomed," restate my argument (again), then distort your ideas in turn? It's much more economical for you just actually read my posts before responding.

My counter is that the offense wasn't good enough in the playoffs last, so it stands to reason it won't be enough this year, given what little Beane has changed (let's assume that, yes, some players will improve but others will disappoint or get injured, as happens most every year). Last year, it got bailed out by the defense against Baltimore and failed on its final drive with the game on the line. In other words, does it matter that the offense didn't turn the ball over and scored lots of points if they keep losing in the playoffs? We're so used to blaming the defense that we forget that Diggs dropped that pass, Bass missed that field goal, Dawkins missed that block, Kincaid didn't make that kick, and pretty much no one showed up against the Bengals. The facts are plain: The offense hasn't been good enough.

The only N that counts is Super Bowl wins, as Josh Allen is always saying, and that N=0. Great that Hollins and Shakir exceeded expectations last year, not so great that Coleman and Kincaid did not. I'm sure this year, too, some players will step up on offense and some will not. I'm hopeful--I'm always hopeful--that this year is the year they go all the way. Could happen. But I think Beane's improvements on defense won't come to full fruition until next year, and I don't think his tweaks on offense amount to more than treading water. Note: This is about when the ad hominen attacks usually begin. Let's try to keep it civil, ok?

You're missing my point, I hope not deliberately. I'm not disputing that the Bills offense will score as many points as last year or gain as many yards. I'm focusing on the playoffs, when it counts the most, right? Are we on the same page there, or are you content with a nice record in the regular season, along with a win or two against the Broncos or whomever? If you are, speak up. I'll put a finer point on it for you: Beane stood pat on an offense that couldn't deliver in the clutch the last two years. He prioritized a weak defense instead, which is understandable. But let's not delude ourselves that this is a "great offense." A great offense doesn't choke on its final drive of the playoffs. Essentially, Beane is betting it won't come down to the final drive.

You're implying you're fine with returning offense with the same level of production as last year. So I assume you're also fine with losing in the playoffs again with the same "great offense"? Fourth down with the game on the line and KC blitzing, only this time Kincaid (or Coleman or Palmer or Moore or Shenault or another of our deep threats) catches the ball, like Diggs failed the year before? Or maybe you're saying the defense will be so improved we don't need an offense that can score on the final drive of a game. In other words, we don't need the "great offense" you say we have.

Yet Beane shrugs off the need for a top WR by pointing out that Brady didn't have one, ignoring his having Edelman and a HOF tight end.

Darrick Forrest looks like he might be something: fast (4.41), big enough at 5'11 200 Ibs, good experience. As I recall, he was injured then was the odd man out with the new coaching staff in Washington. Four interceptions in 2022. The only advantage Hamlin seems to have over him is familiarity with the Bills system. Did Bishop play any strong safety last year? He seems better suited close to the line of scrimmage. I'm hoping the eventual lineup will be Bishop and Hancock at strong- and free safety, respectively. Rapp's ok and Hamlin is adequate, but you want to do better than ok and adequate.

Epenesa looked strong like that before the Bills asked him to lose weight and he lost too much. By the time he got to "optimal," his signature power was gone. Now he's neither particularly strong nor quick. He's more of a high-effort, "blue-collar" guy who can bat the ball down. I sometimes wonder how he would have turned out if they had let him be. At least he could have set the edge, something he doesn't do well now. If Jackson and Solomon develop and Walker is better on the edge (talk about power and quickness), Epenesa could be the odd man out in 2026.

Also, Greg Cosell said Dorian Strong is mostly a man cornerback. I love the idea of a diverse defense that can adjust on the fly, change things up, and surprise offenses. The constant zone, especially with a fading Douglas, an overmatched Hamlin, and a tepid pass rush, was just asking for teams to attack.

You might be right. Plus, the QB knew he was coming, at least usually. Remember his blindside hit on Boomer Esiason?

A pass rush that had time to get home because both teams had a strong secondary. Bruce Smith himself isn't getting many sacks with the free safety playing back in the end zone on every passing down like Hamlin did last year. There's a lot of pressure on one guy--Bishop--this season. If he doesn't have it, the Bills don't have many options to replace him: a rookie, a marginal free agent, and, you guessed it, Hamlin. Yes, he made some plays on occasion last year, but my point is that if he's on the field, the upgrades to the DL won't have nearly as much impact as we hope. And no pass rush = another close game against KC the Bills lose because McDermott.

That's an understatement. It isn't a talent deficiency that made the Bills D look like warm butter against KC in the playoffs, otherwise the Bills wouldn't have been them regularly in the regular season. McDermott doesn't seem to grasp what his top peers in every major sport get intuitively: You have to take your game up another level in the playoffs. In the AFCCG, Reid had his team prepared and intensely focused, leaving McDermott, once again, bewildered and gormless. "It worked before," he seems to be thinking, "Why is it so different now?" Allen is the pretty much the only reason the games have been as close as they've been. He DOES up his game even more. But many of his teammates need a head coach to set a championship tone. Hint to McDermott: You need to do more than put up rousing banners like "Trust the process!"

Given your assessment and assuming positive growth from him this year, do you think he could be an elite player? His inability to get separation, combined with his meh contested-catch rate, are pretty disappointing for such a high pick, but what about his prospects? Does he have a high ceiling, or is he going to be ordinary?

Agreed that it's too early to say. Much of my dismay comes from seeing this absolute gem of a quarterback with merely adequate receivers to throw to. Beane looks at last year's offensive production and says, "Good enough," since the team has needs elsewhere. But does he realize that the production could be better, even historically good, if he just provided Allen with the stars that all his top peers have? Allen is rivaling or surpassing them throwing to Mack Hollins and a washed-up Amari Cooper. How would he do with weapons like Justin Jefferson or Cee Dee Lamb? Not sure it's possible to make it happen at this point, though; the die is cast. Time for me and my ilk to stop fretting, complaining, and criticizing and get aboard the hype train. Go Bills!

I would have challenged Beane's premise. He's saying that since the offense was effective last year, it will be effective this year with the same players returning, plus Palmer. But he's assuming that Allen will have another MVP year, that he and Brady won't miss one of their most clutch players in Mack Hollins, and that other teams won't be better prepared to stop what the Bills did well. Optimistic posters here add that Kincaid and Coleman will be better. (Which reminds me of the annual cry, "This is the year Elam will show up!) In short, Beane is gambling. You can make an argument he had no choice with the defense so badly needing help. But he's leaving Allen and Brady with essentially the same JV squad of wide receivers and hoping that lightning will strike twice. All that said, I do think Allen will lift this squad, again. But he'll win despite his receivers (and Beane), not because of them.

"Dumb" is pretty strong language, bub, especially from someone with obvious reading problems. No need to apologize. We all have moments of utter stupidity.

Ah, the straw man argument is not dead. Did I say or imply that Coleman is beyond all hope or that not picking Royals means an early playoff exit for the Bills? If you want to respond, respond to the points I made, not to fictions. Again, I'm saying Royals would have been a more valuable pick than Walker because Allen can't do it alone; meanwhile, they're stacked at DT. Do you disagree?

I have no problems with a tub of goo at DT; I just think a guy who can stretch the field on key downs and stop defenses from cheating up would be more valuable, giving the short passing game and runners more room. He doesn't (didn't) need to be a fantastic, just good enough to pose a threat downfield, so a potentially bigger return on that fourth-round pick than Walker.

Ongoing conversation in another thread, but I'll just agree with those who are bewildered by Beane's lack of urgency on wide receivers. Mahomes has Rice, Hollywood Brown, Worthy, and now Royals. Burrow has two studs in Chase and Higgins. Hurts has DeVonta and AJ Brown. Allen? Shakir, who has never had a 1000 yard season, Coleman, a slow possession receiver who wasn't even catching jump balls late last year, Palmer, who is supposed to be the second coming of Jerry Rice but who the receiver-starved Chargers happily let go, Samuels, who we keep making excuses for, and a bunch of practice squad level players. Color me underwhelmed. Meanwhile, he continues to dump--DUMP--resources into the defensive line. Lovely to have, what, four big investments in the DT position, but at the expense of mediocrity at another key position? Maybe he's planning to trade for Pickens or someone. But I doubt it. As others have said, he's probably thinking, "Hey, Allen and the running game did it all last year, so let's assume they'll be able to do the same again this year. What could go wrong?" Let's watch Jalen Royals, whom he could have picked instead of Walker. I really, really hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling it's not going to be pretty.

Man, if Jalen Royals, drafted by KC one pick after the Bills passed on him, turns into a star a year after the Bills passed on Worthy, we're never going to hear the end of it, especially if Coleman and Walker don't pan out.

I agree with this analysis, except I think they should have picked a free safety in the fourth round, Billy Bowman, for example, instead of waiting until the sixth round. The Walker pick seemed like a luxury they couldn't afford with needs at safety, WR, and LB. Still, Walker might end up being a stud if he gets in shape.

That's an understatement. Have we ever seen him do more than catch the ball, usually less than ten yards down the field, and immediately get tackled?

It's because they gave up on Boogie Basham too soon! 😃